Sydney Thunder allrounder to meet with specialist to determine if he needs surgery on his right knee

Daniel Sams is not expected to miss any of this season’s Big Bash despite confirmation the star left-armer had been ruled out of the rest of the English summer with a knee injury.

Sams, a T20 freelancer after declining a NSW contract last year, is on his way home from Essex and will meet with a specialist next week on the degenerative right knee issue that cut short his Blast campaign after six matches.

While it’s yet to be determined if the 31-year-old needs surgery, a Sydney Thunder spokesperson said they were confident he would be available for the start of KFC BBL|14 either way

Sams is also expected to miss the Hundred in August where he was due to represent Northern Superchargers after two seasons with Trent Rockets.

In an interview with Essex prior to returning home, Sams said he expected the recovery period to be around “four to six months” and was aiming to be back for the Big Bash, which gets underway in mid-December.

Sams signed a two-year extension with the Thunder last December that will take him to eight seasons with the Western Sydney club when the deal expires at the end of BBL|15.

The Australia-capped allrounder is the Thunder’s all-time men’s leading wicket-taker with 105 in 79 matches and claimed the club’s first five-wicket haul in the BBL with his 5-30 against Brisbane Heat last season.

This year was his third straight T20 season with Essex. He was named the Blast’s player of the tournament in 2023 with 419 runs and 25 wickets to help his side reach the final where they went down to Somerset by 14 runs.

He finishes the 2024 campaign with seven wickets in six matches, having missed their two most recent matches against Hampshire and Kent while the severity of the injury was determined.

He has been replaced by South African Eathan Bosch for the rest of Essex’s T20 Blast campaign.

“The things I’ve appreciated most (from Essex) is it’s been about my health,” Sams said.

“I could totally see how it would be easy for a club or a franchise to be ‘how can we get him back as soon as possible to play’.

“Obviously that is a focus but with the nature of the injury I’ve got, if I was to push further than what I already have been, it could potentially affect my longevity in the game, so the guys have been awesome in supporting me with that.

“Moving around I’m alright, but as soon as I get to doing cricket (related movements) I can’t really run around properly and bowl.

“I’ve been pretty lucky; I haven’t really had much time out of the game with injuries in my career so far, so it is what it is.”

Sams said he was hoping to return for next year’s T20 Blast.

“My wife and I really enjoy coming back here, and we’ve made some really good friends with the guys and their partners,” he said.

“It’s a time that we really look forward to so we’re quite disappointed we’re going to have to go home early … hopefully we’re back here next year.”

Elsewhere, Leicestershire’s Australian T20 captain Peter Handscomb will miss another match with a shoulder injury suffered while fielding on the boundary in the Foxes’ County Championship fixture against Sussex last month.

The Victorian also missed this week’s red-ball clash with former side Middlesex.

Queenslander Xavier Bartlett has finished his T20 Blast stint with Kent and has been replaced by Tasmanian and Renegades quick Tom Rogers, while recent Melbourne Stars overseas recruit Tom Curran has been sidelined for Surrey with a fractured arm.

2024 T20 Blast standings

Australians in the 2024 County Championship

Durham: Ben Dwarshuis, Ashton Turner (both T20s only)

Essex: Daniel Sams (T20s only)

Glamorgan: Marnus Labuschagne

Gloucestershire: Cameron Bancroft, Beau Webster

Hampshire: Michael Neser, Ben McDermott (T20s only)

Kent: Wes Agar, Charlie Stobo, Xavier Bartlett (T20s only), Tom Rogers (T20s only)

Lancashire: Nathan Lyon, Chris Green

Leicestershire: Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris

Northamptonshire: Chris Tremain (first four matches only), Ashton Agar (T20s only)

Somerset: Matthew Renshaw, Riley Meredith

Surrey: Sean Abbott, Spencer Johnson (T20s only)

Sussex: Nathan McAndrew, Daniel Hughes